Battlefield 3 players to get hefty 2GB patch tomorrow

Come this time tomorrow, PC gamers will be able to traverse Battlefield 3's virtual warzones without sunglasses. DICE is preparing a weighty 2GB patch that addresses a host of issues, including an adjustment to the blinding tactical flashlights. According to the changelog, tac lights will produce less glare over "longer ranges." There's a comparison shot below that demonstrates how much the lens flare has been scaled down at a medium distance.

The patch will also deliver most of the content for the Back to Karkand DLC along with dozens of other tweaks. The IRNV scope is now limited to close range, certain weapons are properly suppressed and conceal your minimap location, stealth air vehicles are less effective, firing a weapon on full auto is less accurate, miniguns are weaker against jets and helicopters, and 12g FRAG ammo is less effective with auto and semi-auto shotguns.

Server hosts can once again reduce the number of people required to start a round to one player in both ranked and unranked modes. DICE caught some flak when it increased the minimum to four players. The developer plans to introduce a "warm-up mode" in the near future that will allow gamers to play with scoring disabled until a certain number of people join, which will trigger the start of the "real round." The full release notes are below.

Although there is a consensus among PC players that it's superior to MW3, BF3 wasn't perfect when it launched. The game's forced browser integration is arguably its greatest blemish, but that'll probably never be changed. However, would you say DICE is doing a decent job patching issues that can be fixed? Have the updates improved your overall impression of the game? Are there any major problems that remain unaddressed?

Bug Fixes

Fixed a problem with spawn timer now showing blue border on startup and lost spawn point

Fixed a problem where player who joined queuing on End of round got spawn screen stuck on screen, but unable to do anything with it untill next round loaded

Fixed a problem where camera would change to 3rd person on killcam when killcam was turned off in server settings

Fixed stat references on several dogtags

Fixed for surveillance ribbon not counting TUGS

Fixed a missing combat area lines on the minimap for Grand Bazaar conquest small

Moved a tank spawn in US base on Caspian Border so it would not be destroyed by a falling tree

Fixed a problem where placing C4 with the russians soldier was playing US faction VO

Fixed a problem where TV guided missiles could be shot into its own helicopter and destroy it

Fixed a problem when attempting to fire lock on weapons without a target

Tweaked the chat, it should now be a bit easier to read

Fixed several vehicles that did not properly shoot rockets and guns towards their predictive sights

Fixed the G17 Supressed Laser not working properly

Added alternate HUD colors to help colorblinds

Added a network interpolation setting. This allows users with good bandwidth reduce latency, but might increase some stuttering. The user can find what works best for his connection by tweaking the slider.

Increased the Spawn protection radius on TDM

Fixed a problem with smoke on land vehicles, Missiles should now miss more often

Fixed a problem where users could end up with IRNV scope in any vehicle

Fixed a problem where player dies if vaulting over a ledge and into water while sprinting

Fixed several crashes and increased general stability

Fixed a problem where the user was unable to revive two players that have the bodies one over the other

Fixed so you can assign an axis and use as a digital input. This makes it possible for the player (on pc) to assign one of the sticks on a gameped to be used for throttle/brake.

Fixed a problem with the Kill camera acting up when suiciding from parachute

Fixed air radar was showing to much. now lasertagged, heatsignature above threshold, enemy missiles and capture points are only visible on air radar

Fixed a problem where the game would enter a technical hang if the user pressed pause menu and tilde at the same time

Fixed a problem where you could get green flashes on screen

You can now reassign cycle weapons

Fixed so the weapon zooms automatically after bipod deploy is gone when using zoom toggle

Fixed a problem where the parachute would stay stuck in air if the owner was killed

Balance Tweaks

Fixed several weapons so they are properly suppressed and hide the player on the minimap when fired.